


Stranded In Montauk

by queenhoneebee



Series: Wattpad Original Stories [8]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:28:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28708947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenhoneebee/pseuds/queenhoneebee
Summary: Was deleted off Wattpad. I am looking into self-publishing.Nova and her family escape to their beachhouse in Montauk for the summer. They don't expect the storm that comes their way, even less the family of boys that it dumps on their doorstep.
Series: Wattpad Original Stories [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2104437





	1. The One With The Cookies

1 | The One With The Cookies

No one expects to be spending the first day of the summer standing outside Rockefeller Centre selling Girl Scout cookies. Okay, maybe if that person were a six year old, adorable with dimples and such, this could be an acceptable way to spend the day. But I'm a seventeen year old girl and this is not the kind of thing that many seventeen year old girls indulge in, as opposed to things such as tanning.

Standing in my sister’s Girl Scout uniform and surrounded by horny high school, college students and occasionally middle aged men is definitely not my idea of an ideal summer outing. But hey, it’s for the kids right? That’s at least what I have to keep telling myself. In my opinion, those kids can go and shove it up their–

"Nova!"

I turned around to face the one who dragged me into this torture with a sneer on my face. Corbet just grinned at me. Corbet Reynolds is possibly the most horrible person on the entire planet. It just so happens that I am stuck with her as a best friend.

“What now?” I asked her. She just gave me a smirk before shoving a pair of stiletto’s in my hands. I glared at her, my expression clearly saying to her _no way in Lucifer’s ass am I wearing these!_ Corby just smiled and walked off to help some new horny, I mean hungry, customer.

I grimaced, but put on the death traps. I stood up, wobbling slightly, before getting the hang of the shoes. I glared at no one as New Yorkers busied themselves around our cookie selling stand, husbands and boyfriends alike trying not to stare at us for too long in fear of being backhanded by their significant other.

This one thought was enough to make me smile. But then that was enough for two guys to think it okay to wolf whistle in my direction. I decided to embrace the fact that I had a whole day of this ahead and promptly waved them over.

“Do you boys see something you like?” I flirted, subtly batting my eyelashes at them. The taller of the two grinned and nodded, while the other just exhaled.

“Yeah. You,” the shorter boy grinned at me. I pouted slightly at him.

I know I’m not bad to look at. I’m fairly tanned from all of the surfing that I do, thin too. I have to be, otherwise they would kick me off the track team. I’m not the shortest person alive, that title goes to Corby, but I have a well-proportioned body that inspires people to tell me that I have legs that go on forever.

“I’m sorry baby, but unfortunately I’m not for sale.” I managed to make both boys subconsciously mimic my pout. “However, I am selling these yummy cookies. Do you think you could spare some change and make a little girl’s world turn upside down?” I gave them another flirtatious eye bat.

They both nodded eagerly and brought out their wallets. I grinned. They each handed me a twenty dollar note. I grinned and kissed Andrew Jackson’s lovely faces before putting them into the till. My customers were still grinning with wide eyes at me.

I smiled back and motioned for them to choose their boxes. The taller one chose five boxes of Thin Mints, whereas the other boy chose three Do-si-dos and two Tagalongs. I thanked them both and the taller one went to shake my hand. I obliged, but as I pulled my hand away, I found a small piece of paper in my palm with ten numbers printed on it. I grinned at him and slid his number into my bra, giving him a wink before moving on to my next customer.

Corby slapped my ass as she shuffled past me to grab more boxes, earning many more wolf whistles from our ever growing crowd. I saw Corby’s older sister Mandy running towards us in a similar get up.

Corby must have called her to help. Mandy is absolutely beautiful, it’s kind of a shame that she’s a slut. Mandy is twenty-two, five years older than me, and six older than Corby. We stood around for the rest of the day. Mandy was in charge of attracting men and boys to our stand to buy cookies. Her uniform was even more slutty than mine or Corby’s.

Our white shirts were cropped to midriff singlets and our skirts came a short way down our thighs, with the sashes draped over our shoulders. Mandy on the other hand, was wearing a white bra with the Girl Scout insignia over one breast, and her skirt was literally just the sash. I don’t even know if she was wearing underwear, nor do I want to know. But it attracted customers, which gave us money.

I should probably explain why Corby dragged us to dress like sluts and sell cookies. My little sister Abigail is a Girl Scout. She is six and is only a part of the Girl Scout community because my parents thought she needed to socialize more. The Girl Scouts then have to raise money and sell their cookies, only this year, the scout who sells the most receives a free trip to Disneyland for herself and four others, two adults and two friends.

Naturally, little Abs wanted that prize more than anything, so our parents bought around 5,000 boxes. They did not however, seem to remember the fact that Abigail is not good around people, and so, for the first month of the competition, we had two whole rooms of the apartment filled with boxes upon boxes of cookies and a little girl who refused to sell them.

Mom and Dad then proceeded to be called to a major emergency, leaving us to deal with the cookie situation. Both my parents and Corby’s are high flying research and experimental people. Call me a horrible daughter for not knowing what my parents actually do for a living but I don’t care. So they left my eldest sister, Belle and her long term boyfriend Gasman, in charge of us all.

Belle is twenty five and Gasman is twenty seven, making them fully capable of looking after six other girls, another boy and two dogs. Yes that is seven other people, congratulations, you can count. I have three younger siblings, Abigail who is six, and Miles and Lillian who are both fifteen. Then there is Corby, who is sixteen, me at seventeen, twenty two year old Mandy and her four year old son, Boyd. We then have two family dogs, a Pomeranian-Husky named Kransky, courtesy of five year old me, and a Dachshund named Oreo.

Anyway, if you can remember all of that, when our parents left us, Belle helped us to brainstorm ways to sell the cookies and get Abigail that trip to Disneyland. Naturally, Corby the master of bad ideas, came up with the two of us dressing in our old uniforms and selling the cookies. Since no one could come up with anything else, apparently my reaction to the idea was too priceless to do something different, we then set the date for the first day of summer outside Rockefeller Centre.

When Mandy showed up to help, we had already gone through the 5, 000 that mom and dad originally bought. We had to make a second order. You should have heard the cheers from the crowd when the cookie distributor showed up in his truck. We then set up our business at the back of the truck.

By the end of the day, we had sold all of our original boxes, had to make three more truck orders and sold all of those. I also ended up with over two hundred slips of paper stuck in my bra. We had sold a total of 20, 504 boxes, making a total profit of $82, 016. Corby was absolutely stoked and I was absolutely exhausted. And as a bonus, we only had to pull about twenty guys off of Mandy throughout the whole day, which is what I call progress because I was almost certain that that number would be in the hundreds.

Corby tossed me one of the trench coats that she had stored in her bag for our ride home on the subway. I gladly put it on, covering up the hideous uniform.

“Mandy, do you want one?” Corby asked. Mandy just grinned, shaking her head.

“Nah, I’m not cold.”

“Translation. I would like to look like a slut for the rest of the way home. My daily quota of boys flinging themselves at me is yet to be fulfilled,” I mimicked her. Mandy just glared at me as Corby tried, and failed miserably, to stifle her giggles.

We laughed, but I only spoke the truth. Three guys tried to get her number in the space of ten minutes. I had to commend them though, it couldn’t be easy to approach a girl wearing almost nothing, surrounded by hordes of judging New Yorkers.

When we arrived back at our apartment building, we walked in the front door and I smiled as I heard the usual hustle of the family’s nightly ritual. Boyd came running down the stairs, stark naked I might add, and crashed into Mandy.

“Momma! Momma! Aunty Bellie won’t let me take my boat in da baff!” Boyd cried. I smiled as Mandy accepted a coat from Corby.

“Buddy, I don’t know if the boat can go in the bath. What about Mr Octopus? I thought you loved bath time with him?” Mandy cooed. Boyd pouted.

“Mr Octopus said a bad word to me,” Boyd said, turning to grin at me.

“What was the word?”

Boyd’s grin stretched wider along his face.

“He called me an ass,” Boyd grinned at me, my eyes widened. I knew he was going to dob me in for that sometime. I accidentally called him an ass last week when he came into my room and squirted water on me when I was getting ready for school.

“And where did you learn that word?” Mandy asked, giving me a slight stink eye. She knew it would have been me. I just shrugged at her. I grinned at Boyd, who nodded at me.

“Mommy, let Aunty Nova take care of this sitch,” I grinned at her, scooping up the young boy and running with him to the bathroom. Mandy yelled at us, but we were too far away to hear her. Boyd was giggling as I dumped him in the bath, effectively putting bubbles all over my trench coat.

“Why’d you have to tell on me to Mommy?” I pouted at him. Boyd mimicked my pout, shrugging. I squirted some shampoo into my hand before massaging it into his wild, curly black hair.

“You could have gotten me in big trouble mister. And if Novie got into trouble, that would mean she can’t take her little man Boyd to the park in the afternoons with the puppies,” I said. Boyd immediately blubbered and stood up.

“BOYD IS SORRY!” he yelled. I had taught him to refer to himself in third person as Boyd. It was like our special thing, he was only like this with me. I laughed and pushed him back down into the bath. I rubbed some conditioner into his hair as he played with Mr Octopus, a small plastic dog toy that I bought for him when we were shopping for new dog toys. Boyd saw it and grew immediately attached, so it became his bath time buddy.

“Just make sure to not do it again,” I sighed. When I was done I plunged my hands into the water. I brought them to make a circle, blowing a bubble in his face. He grinned and tried to copy me. I helped to shape his hands in a circle. He proceeded to blow but the bubble popped before it left his fingers. He pouted.

“No Buddy, like this.” I did it again. “Blow the air slower so that it makes a bubble.” Boyd grinned and tried it, making a bubble pop in my face. He laughed and splashed the water happily.

I laughed with him until he stood up and began to splash water at me.

“Hey! No fair!”

Boyd laughed but I managed to grab his hands and drag him down until he was sitting again. I grabbed the jug from beside the bath and filled it with bath water.

“Close your eyes bud. We don’t want soap to get in them.” I washed the conditioner and soap out of his hair before helping him out of the bath.

“So who taught Boyd a bad word?” I asked him. Boyd grinned.

“Mr Octopus did.”

“And who taught Mr Octopus?” Boyd eyes flashed mischievously.

“Mr Octopus taught himself because he is an adult like Mommy.”

I laughed.

“Good enough Bud,” I rubbed him dry as he squealed before running away to his room. I sighed and walked in, only to find him posing in front of his mirror wearing one of Mandy’s dresses. Mandy and Boyd have their rooms joined by their shared bathroom. It only makes sense that the dress is Mandy’s.

“Where is Boyd?” I asked jokingly. Boyd giggled and twirled the dress.

“Mommy? Is that you? Have you seen Boyd?”

Boyd giggled again before putting on his best girly voice.

“Yes I am Mommy. Boyd is invisible,” he squeaked. I feigned shock, gasping.

“Invisible!? But however will he play with Novie if Novie cannot see him?”

Boyd frowned before grinning wide.

“What if Novie looked for Boyd? Would she find Boyd?” he asked adorably. I grinned.

“Is Mommy saying that Boyd is playing Hide and Seek?” I asked. Boyd laughed.

“Yes. Boyd is hiding. Novie must look for Boyd until she cannot find him. Then Novie has to surrender and make Boyd the king of the world.”

I pretended to look around the room for Boyd, even lifting him off the ground to look under his feet.

“Novie can’t find Boyd. I guess she’ll just have to give up,” I sighed. Boyd giggled before reaching up to me.

“Boyd is right here!” he squealed. I laughed and lifted the dress off him.

“Well look at that. I found him. But a promise is a promise, so Novie will make Boyd a crown after dinner that is fit for a king.”

Boyd squealed again and I laughed, helping him into his pyjamas. He took my hand and we made our way downstairs to dinner.

Boyd joined Kranksy, Oreo and Abigail on the couch as she played with them whilst I made my way to the kitchen.

Mandy glared at me when I walked in.

“What?” I asked, grabbing an apple from the counter.

“You know what Nova! You can’t be teaching Boyd that kind of language! You’ll scar him!”

I scoffed at her words.

“Because you dressing like a hooker won’t scar him?” Corby, who was sitting on the island bench, tried to stifle her giggles to escape the glare of her sister. She was unsuccessful.

Mandy continued to glare at me. I just raised my eyebrows at her.

Don’t get me wrong, I know young children aren’t supposed to know that kind of language, but I can’t help it if it slips out. I mean, I know I’m in the wrong here, but that isn’t going to stop me from making jabs at Mandy.

Loving jabs.

Friendly jabs, sure.

But jabs all the same.

Mandy soon gave up on glaring and I took as my chance to give her as much of an apology as I was prepared. I mean, apologies from me are about as rare as diamonds.

“Okay, I’ll try to be better at controlling my mouth,” I said, shrugging.

Mandy smiled, seemingly happy with my input.

“Thank you Noves.”

I nodded, turning away from her, apple in hand. I rested against the island bench and watched my eldest sister, Belle, prepare dinner.

“I can’t make any promises though. If it slips, it slips,” I grinned. Mandy just nodded, walking out of the room to take a shower I presume. The life of a girl scout stripper must be pretty harsh. I mean, the smell of desperate men must be pretty bad.

I don’t really blame her for wanting to take a shower.

I continued to eat my apple until I noticed that Belle was throwing her own little glare my way. I looked up at her, mid-chew, my mouth hanging open like a stunned cow.

“Not you too,” I grimaced at my beautiful sibling. Her glare only became more hard set on her face.

I rolled my eyes. “See now Belle, why would you want to ruin your pretty face? Surely the wind is going to change direction before you stop glaring at me. Why don’t we save everyone the trouble, and you just let me slide on this one? I’m sure Gasman would appreciate it if your face wasn’t forever preserved in a state of dissatisfaction. I mean, how is that going to make him feel? Especially in the bedr–”

“NOVA!” she cut me off, and I looked to my side, seeing Corby stuff some food in her mouth to suppress her giggles.

Belle sighed.

“Look, I know your apologies can be pretty few and far between, but can you please try to be more civil with Mandy?” Belle did that thing with her face that made me want to stab myself in the thigh.

You know the look. The big doe eyes and the hopeful smile.

How sickening.

Belle had a way of making me feel like she’d caught me with my hand stuck in the cookie jar.

“Yeah, you are pretty front up with Mands. Maybe you could just slow up on the jabs a bit. You know how offended Mandy can get,” Corby cut in. I gave my so called best friend my famous stink eye. As I was about to make a clever retort, the twins came crashing into the kitchen. Lillian was on the verge of tears and Miles was profusely trying to console her twin.

Belle abandoned the probably delicious meal being created to tend to my dramatic sibling.

“Lil, what’s wrong?” Belle threw an arm around the younger girl’s shoulders and gave her an awkward hug.

“Wayde called me a ditzy blonde on Instagram!” Lillian wailed. Miles rubbed her back.

“Forget him, he’s an idiot. He just doesn’t see the awesome that we all do,” Miles said in a small voice. Miles was a great kid. She tended to keep to herself, but she was fiercely protective of her twin.

Wayde was one of Miles’ friends. Miles tended to hang out with the boys. She viewed girls as dramatic and whiny, an opinion that I shared with her. It was also an opinion that got me labelled as a closet bitch at school, but that is a story for another time. Miles was of the opinion that she could only handle a certain amount of drama and whining, which was supplied enough by her loving family.

Obviously.

Lillian had had a crush on Wayde for as long as I could remember, and he knew it. For him to blatantly call her these things on social media was cowardly, and downright rude. An area that I excel in.

Even though what he said was true, that didn’t give him clearance to use Lillian’s traits as insults. Plus, describing Lillian as a ditzy blonde was really only half true. The twins were the smartest kids in their year.

However, Lillian lacked a little of what I liked to call social smarts, or street smarts. She’s a little naïve when it comes to social ladders and such.

She was possibly one of the biggest girly girls I knew, second to Mandy of course, and dear God I was praying that Lillian would not become a Mini-Mandy.

But that’s a little off topic.

But Lillian was not Miss Popularity. She had nice enough friends, but she didn’t have enough social standing for Wayde to be calling her out on bullshit.

Not that anyone should ever be bullied because of their social standing.

Anyway, I’m rambling.

“Look, I’ll talk to him tomorrow, and tell him that he hurt your feelings. Would that help?” Miles asked. Lil gave him a weak nod.

“What were you guys even talking about for him to call you that?” Corby asked. Lillian took a seat beside me at the island, Miles handing her tissues.

Belle went back to her stove, making sure she hadn’t burnt what she was cooking, Lord knew we didn’t need the apartment to burn down at a moment like this.

I was tempted to leave the room for fear of catching feelings, but I didn’t. I wanted to know the reason that Wayde had dissed my little sister, so I stayed put.

“We weren’t talking about anything. Sarah just posted a selfie today, and she and I were making funny faces, then Wayde commented on the selfie and called me a ditzy blonde.”

I sighed. That was it? All these tears over a selfie?

Well, if this was important to her, I guess I shouldn’t judge.

I zoned out of their conversation, focusing on finishing my apple before dinner. When I was done, I watched Belle pour the sauce over the lasagne that she had made, before layering it with cheese and sticking it in the oven.

My mouth watered.

You could have put a bucket under my mouth and filled it with drool.

That’s how much I was looking forward to eating that lasagne.

I didn’t take my eyes off the oven for a good twenty minutes, just waiting for the cheesy goodness to be cooked enough to eat.

I know, I’m a mess.

It wasn’t until Gazzy made a grand entrance to the kitchen, that I took my eyes off the appliance.

“Where is my beautiful partner on this glorious night?” he exclaimed, his eyes roaming the room for Belle.

He smiled lovingly when he found her and I almost gagged at their idea of appropriate gestures. He was basically eating her face.

Gross.

I glanced at Corby, only to see that she was swooning at them. It was her inner fangirl I guess. How disgusting. I rested my eyes back on the oven, seeing the timer tick over to the last five minutes.

I licked my lips in anticipation.

When dinner was served, there was basically a stampede into the kitchen. Dinner time was always a mess. I sat, I would say patiently but that would be lying, for my food.

I didn’t look up from my delicious meal until I heard the words ‘holiday’ and ‘Montauk’.

I almost fell off my chair in excitement.

“What!” I yelled. Belle and Gas just grinned at me.

“If you had been listening instead of lusting after your food, you would know what we’re talking about,” Mandy grinned. I ignored her and looked pointedly at Belle.

“I said, that Gas and I are going to be spending the summer at the beach house in Montauk. You are all welcome to come with us. But if you choose to stay here, you must be prepared to be checked upon every day by me. Mom and Dad would kill me if you weren’t supervised for the summer.” Belle smiled at me.

“Done!” I grinned, “I am so there.” This would give me a chance to practice all of my surfing before having to go back to school. And I’d get a killer tan, so I could rub my perfect body in the face of one jackass jock, who just so happened to go by the name of Penn Louis.

Or as I liked to call him, the biggest pig to walk the face of the earth. Or to some, my ex-boyfriend.

Even the thought of my former relationship wasn’t enough to bring me down from my high.

The whole summer in Montauk? Yes fricking please.

~


	2. The One With The Storm

2 | The One With The Storm

**|Nova|**

I couldn't be more excited. I mean, the whole summer at the beach house was just going to be amazing.

Not even the looming crap weather could bring me down. If anything, crap weather made for better waves.

I was just itching to get out on my board. I needed to practice if I wanted to be eligible for the competitions during the school year.

Maybe if I was lucky, I could go to nationals again this year. I heard they're in Australia this time.

Last year, they were in Hawaii. Corby, Mandy and I had all made it to nationals, and I had come second for my age group. That made me the second best surfer for my age in the whole world.

Pretty fricking awesome if you ask me.

Corby and Mandy didn't place last year, but they're both still great riders.

Did you see that?

I just complimented Mandy.

Take a photograph because it doesn't happen often.

Anyway. So it was decided by everyone, that we all wanted to go to the beach house. Mandy, Belle and Gas all decided to schedule work days so that someone was always at the beach house to supervise the younger kids, while they took turns going to work.

I was pretty offended by the fact that they thought I couldn't take care of the kids during the day while they were at work. I mean, Lillian and Miles would just do what they want anyway, so I would really only be looking after Boyd and Abby.

And I would have Corby's help.

We weren't incompetent.

But that's besides the point. So they made their arrangements.

I guess there are some pros to them not trusting us enough though. It meant Corby and I could spend more time doing whatever it was that we wanted to do.

"Excited?" Corby asked me as we loaded up our pickup truck. The truck was a gift from my parents on my seventeenth birthday. It was for Corby and I to share, seeing as we were pretty much inseparable anyway.

It had space enough for the two of us and one more in the cab, then the back had enough room for our boards and all our luggage.

It was an ugly green colour that I just adored.

I grinned at my best friend. "Yes! I just can't wait to get out on the waves."

Corby grinned, shoving her bags into the bed of the truck. I did the same before we secured our boards.

I walked around to the drivers' side and we hopped in. Corby fiddled with the radio until she found a station she liked.

We waited casually in the car, listening to the music over the bustle of the busy New York streets.

I watched Mandy load up her Mini Cooper with all her gear, before she came towards us with we board.

"Do you guys have room for one more?" She asked hopefully. I just scoffed.

"If you wanted more room, why did you buy such a shitty car?" I laughed.

Mandy glared at me until Corby spoke up. "I think we can make some room for it Mands."

I rolled my eyes at what I would call my bestie's fatal flaw: her aim to please.

Corby jumped down from the cab and helped Mandy find a place for her board. As she was walking back to her own car, she flipped me the bird, to which I just laughed and honked my horn at.

She spun around and grinned, running up to the front of the car and laying all over the hood.

Corby and I both laughed, I beeped her again, to which she threw me a peace sign before sliding off my hood and going back to her own car.

I watched her help Boyd into his baby seat before settling in herself.

That just left Belle and her car. I watched as Belle, Gasman, Miles, Lillian, Abby, and the dogs all came bustling out onto the street.

Belle shoved everything into her blue Combi before doors were slammed. Gasman hopped into the driver's seat and started the engine.

I saw his arm shoot out his window, guiding us into the traffic.

We were finally off to the beach house.

Hell yes!!

Corby picked up the walkie talkie that was clipped to the dash board before turning it on.

"Trucker Joe reporting for duty. Come in Hippy Skippy. Come in Cooper's Pooper. Over."

I laughed. Gasman had installed walkie talkies in our cars at Christmas so that when we went on trips like this, we could all still talk to each other despite the fact that we were in different cars.

The names for each walkie talkie were always determined by the first to use them on each trip, and they had to relate to the car that you were driving.

"Hippy Skippy here. Very much appreciative of the name Cooper's Pooper. Over," Lillian laughed. I grinned just as Mandy chimed in.

"Screw you guys. I never get to pick my name; you all have passengers that can use the walkie talkies. I'm not supposed to use mine. I could crash, or get pulled over by a cop."

"Sorry Mandy, but I think that your name perfectly suits your car. Hippy Skippy, Over," Miles chimed in.

"Whatever. I am practicing safe driving and responsible parenting. Count me out of your stupid tradition. Over," Mandy grumbled.

I grinned, taking the walkie talkie from Corby.

"You know the rules Mandy, if you're gonna resign from speaking, you've gotta say the words. Trucker Joe, Over," I laughed.

"Fine! Cooper's Pooper Over and Out!"

I laughed loudly at her grudging dismissal and Corby gave a small giggle.

I began to focus on the road as Corby chatted to the twins and Abby.

I listened in to the bits of Belle and Gasman's conversation that I could hear in the background.

They were laughing about something that happened to Gazzy at work. He's a chef at a fancy restaurant around the corner from where we live.

From what I could hear, some old rich guy came in with his young hot wife and they ordered a bunch of crap that wasn't on the menu, then demanded to have it served to them. When the manager of the store refused, the young wife threw her glass of wine at her husband and demanded a divorce.

Sounded pretty extreme, but it made me laugh nonetheless.

By the time Gazzy had finished his dramatic retelling, we had arrived in Montauk.

Just in time too, it was starting to rain.

We managed to pull in to the beach house and unload our stuff before the worst of the rain came down.

Corby and I both hurriedly unpacked our stuff before changing and rushing downstairs to get our boards before the awesome rainy weather stopped.

I laughed as we ran down onto the sand. The rain was making my hair damp, the ends sticking to my back.

Corby was the first to plunge into the water, splashing me in the process. I giggled joining her.

We paddled out into the depths before I sighted my first wave. I motioned to Corby that that was mine, before moving to catch the wave.

I could hear the roar of thunder in the distance as I placed my feet on the board. The wind whipped my face as I took my stance, then I coursed through the water.

This was my element.

My happy place.

I heard a laugh behind me, as Corby joined my wave, gliding along beside me.

“This was my wave, you thief!” I yelled happily over the scream of the wind.

“Didn’t your mother ever teach to that sharing is caring?!” She laughed back. I could barely hear it over the storm.

Then she stacked it.

I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard in my life.

That is the kind of humour I love so much. When a person is being completely serious, or they think they are being clever. But then the moment grabs them and they are left looking like a fool.

Cracks me up I swear.

I turned my board to the side before bombing into the water. I came up with a smile on my face to see Corby spluttering water out of her mouth.

I cackled at her, to which she just splashed me.

We continued to catch waves like this until Corby was shivering from the cold. Which was a shame, because I was trying to perfect some of my competition moves.

Like my handstand for instance.

Yeah that’s right. I can fucking hand stand while surfing. I’m pretty awesome right.

I’m sorry, but you’re going to be hearing a lot of that kind of thing. I’m a very strong believer in self-support, and patting yourself on the back. And you all should be too.

Corby grasped my arm as I got ready to take another wave.

“Last one, alright? I’m fricking freezing here!”

I nodded at her. I picked the perfect wave. It was huge, and I could see that it was going to curl. When you’re a surfer, you can kind of tell after a while, what a wave is going to do, just from looking at it from far away.

It was awesome.

I jumped up on my board and followed through to the wave. It curled just like I thought it would. I plunged my hand into the curl, dragging it, just like they do in movies. Because you know what? Everyone deserves to feel like they’re in a movie every once in a while, and also, the water feels cool when you do it.

I glided out of the curl and to the beach only to see Corby stack it again. I cracked up. Of course she would fail on her last wave. As I stepped out of the water to wait for Corby, I saw a big streak of lightning strike something in the distance.

Corby saw it too, hurriedly running out of the water. The wind was making my hair fly everywhere, and I could see that she was trying to talk to me, but I couldn’t hear her over the wind.

She pointed at the beach house and I nodded, understanding that she wanted to go inside.

We began to make our way off the beach when something caught my eye.

There was someone hunched over a car that was on the side of the road. I nudged Corby, pointing out the car.

“Should we go and help?” I asked her.

See, I am a nice person when I want to be.

Or maybe I was still enjoying my surfing high.

Doesn’t matter.

Corby nodded at me and we made our way over to the car.

“Need any help?” Corby half yelled, half asked the guy, over the wind. The young man turned around to face us. He was drenched and had motor oil all over his hands.

Apart from that, his face was annoyingly perfect. His hair was dark and curling in the rain. His eyes were a striking shade of gold.

It was an odd combination.

“Help would be great,” he sighed in relief. Corby and I both stood our boards up to block the rain.

Corby was a whizz with cars, I have no idea why. Her dad is a car enthusiast and was always dragging her and I to car shows when we were younger. Corby loved cars though, she was always going on about some model that she wanted, but I could never get into it. It just didn’t interest me.

“Mind if I take a look?” she asked him. His eyebrows went up in surprise, before he motioned to the car.

This is what annoyed me about guys. They immediately assumed that you were incompetent with anything that had to do with what they were interested in.

They like to stereotype. This is what made me start to dislike him a little bit. I looked through the window of the car, only to see four faces staring back at me. I quickly diverted my eyes from the group of boys, turning back to the older one who was now next to me, and holding Corby’s board.

He shot me a half smile, to which I rolled my eyes. I looked to Corby, who was half submerged in the hood of the car. I could see the engine fluid that coated her body from here.

Gross.

She pulled herself out and turned back to the boy beside me. She handed him a small rubber bouncy ball. The kind you get in kids vending machines.

“This was wedged pretty hard in your engine. Probably what made it stop. But you’re also running low on oil and water. That would make your engine overheat pretty quickly, which I’m guessing is why it felt like a sauna in there. Also, one of your tyre’s is flat. You probably won’t be going anywhere for a while,” Corby explained with a grimace.

The boy cursed and handed Corby her board back before slamming the hood of the car.

My eyebrows lifted, and the corner of my mouth quirked in amusement.

“Look, I don’t think you’re going to get to wherever you had planned,” Corby said, motioning to the boys in the car, and also the baggage that seemed to pack in every enclosed space of the vehicle. “Our house is a couple of doors down. You can come in and get cleaned up. We’ll call a tow and you can hang around ‘til your car is fixed. This weather wont hang around forever.”

The boy nodded.

“Thanks,” he said, “I’ll tell the guys.”

The boy moved away to his car and I turned on Corby with a glare.

“What the hell Corbs! We can’t let them into our home! They could be rapists or something!”

Corby just laughed at me.

“We can’t leave them out here in the rain to wait for a tow. We have plenty of spare rooms, and besides, I don’t think a six-year old can be a rapist.” Corby motioned to the small boy in the car seat. I groaned.

“What if they’re paedophiles, and they kidnapped that poor child?!” I pleaded. Corby grinned.

“Then we must help the child for the sake of his sanity,” she said confidently. I groaned. She wasn’t going to give this up.

“Plus, I don’t know if you were paying attention. But that guy was freaking hot! It is like a rule that you have to help out cute guys when they are in trouble,” she added. I rolled my eyes, which she probably didn’t see in the rain.

“That right there, is the kind of mentality that will get _you_ abducted.”

Corby grinned.

“Don’t be so morbid Noves. Just go with it!”

I groaned, but by that time, the boy had come back out from the car and was walking towards us.

“The house is this way,” Corby yelled over the wind, “Bring the boys and your stuff, and we’ll get you inside and out of the rain.”

“Thanks!” The boy yelled back, before motioning to the other boys to follow us with their stuff.

Everyone huddled across the road and out of the rain. We took them around the back of the house to the shaded patio. I rested my board against the house and turned my gaze to Corby to give her a stern glare.

She rolled her eyes at me and turned to the guys.

“Give me a chance to go inside and tell our family what is happening, then we’ll invite you in and we can get properly acquainted and all that sort of thing,” Corby smiled at them. I just glared, running my hand through my wet hair.

I watched Corby grab a towel and go inside. It was a good thing that she was the one to warn the others of what was to come, if it had been me, I would have left the boys outside in the rain to rot.

I could see out of the corner of my eye, that all five of these boys were looking at me. I sighed.

They obviously weren’t going anywhere.

“Take a seat anywhere. Don’t touch anything,” I said harshly. I didn’t bother to look at any of them, instead I chose to take my board and carry it to its stand. Then I did the same with Corby’s.

I got the hose and washed them down of the sea water, even though I’m pretty sure the rain had already done that. But oh well, I was looking for something to do other than speak to these strangers.

If you haven’t already picked it up, I’m not a people person.

I could still feel their eyes on me, so I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my body, to cover up.

I then dried and waxed each of our boards, before placing them in the storage shed beside the house. When I came back to the patio, no one had said anything, and Corby was still inside.

I tried to ignore them, but I knew that if I left them alone out here, I would get a lecture from Belle about being polite to guests.

Ugh.

“Thanks again, by the way,” the older boy said. His golden eyes seemed so striking against the darkness of his damp clothes and hair.

I just huffed.

“Don’t thank me. I probably wouldn’t have helped you in the first place. I don’t know anywhere near as much about cars as Corbet does.”

“So you _do_ talk,” he grinned at me. I rolled my eyes and glared at him.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well you seemed pretty mute back at the car. And you didn’t really say anything until just now,” he chuckled.

I chose to ignore his observation, opting for wringing out my hair instead.

“I’m Beau, by the way,” he offered me his hand. I sighed and turned to him. I swiftly shook his hand before turning away to fix my towel.

“I guess I have to be a gracious host,” I sighed, “I’m Nova.”

“You have a pretty name,” voiced a small someone. I looked down to see a boy around Abby’s age, clinging to the hand of the older boy.

“Thankyou,” I said to him.

“This is my younger brother James,” Beau said. I looked up at him again. He motioned to the other boys. “And these are my cousins; Isaac, Samuel, and Dylan. We were on our way to a camping ground near here before the car broke down and you found us. We–”

I cut him off before he could finish.

“Look, I’m really not in the mood to hear your life story. I’m going to see if Corbet is done telling my sister that you’re here. I want to take a shower,” I grumbled.

God I hate meeting new people.

James looked a little confused at my angry outburst. Beau looked amused. Isaac and Samuel looked indifferent, they were probably around the twins’ age. Dylan looked about my age, and he was glaring at me, like I’d offended him.

I just rolled my eyes at Dylan before opening my back door and walking inside. I stood behind the door and listened in to their conversation.

Call me nosy, but I like hearing what other people say about me when they think I can’t hear them.

“Well, she was kind of rude.” One voiced. I’m guessing probably Dylan.

“Rude, but goddamn, did you see that girl? She was hot,” Beau smirked. I scowled.

Gross. I did not need him to be attracted to me.

“Sure, she’s hot. But she was kind of a bitch. Major turn off,” Dylan said. I grinned. I think Dylan and I might get on greatly. He was very sarcastic.

Wait, what am I saying, I don’t want them to stick around.

“No way Dyl. The hot ones are always a little bit bitchy, you’ve just gotta push past it. I’m telling you, I wouldn’t mind getting to know her a little better, if you know what I mean,” Beau laughed.

I gagged.

What a pig!

I walked away from the door. I didn’t need to hear how much Beau wanted me. It made me feel nauseous.

I walked into the living room, to see Corby explaining to Belle and Gasman, in great detail might I add, why there were five boys on our back patio.

“They’re getting nosy,” I cut in, “If you’re letting them stay, hurry it up. I want to take a shower in peace.”

Belle rolled her eyes at me and Gasman chuckled. The three of them then got up and walked to the back door to speak to our guests.

I sighed, I knew Belle was going to let them stay. It was storming, and it was the mother bear in her, protecting her cubs. Of course she was going to let them stay.

I groaned, my mood effectively ruined, before making my way upstairs to take a shower.

Warm water would do my freezing body some good right about now.

~


	3. The One With The Nicknames

3|The One With The Nickname

**|Nova|**

The storm didn’t let up for two whole days.

And that time was enough for every single one of my family members to begin enjoying the company of the guests that only _I_ considered unwelcome.

I was the only one in the house fed up with them. And that mainly had to do with the fact that the older one, Beau, was a complete pain in the ass.

And it didn’t take two days to figure that out. No. It took about two freaking minutes.

Let me just run you through the events of the last couple of days.

So we arrived at the beach house, Corby and I went surfing, then she insisted on _rescuing_ – her words, not mine – the group of boys whose car had broken down.

You know all of that already.

What you don’t know is the most scarring part.

After I left them on the patio for Belle to deal with, and I went to have my shower, not two minutes after the water had begun to warm and my shower was well underway, was I interrupted by a very rude and abrupt intruder – may I also add sopping wet from the rain outside that had become torrential.

I mean seriously.

If the bathroom door is closed, and you can see light from under the door, and you can hear the sounds of water running from the other side of the door, obviously, there is someone already using the fucking room.

But he had to barge in like he owned the place, causing me to scream in fear of getting raped.

**.**

**| Two Days Prior |**

I huffed as I made my way upstairs, the cold from the rain beginning to sink deep into my bones. I practically hummed with happiness when I turned the handles in the shower, and the room began to fill with a steady cloud of steam created generously by my beautiful shower.

There is seriously nothing like a hot shower on a cold summer’s day.

Wait, what the fuck!

Who says that?!

My brain must be fried from the weather. Phrases like that should be taboo. Summer is associated with sweltering heat and generous waves at the beach. Not rain and cold.

Those titles, I will happily reserve for winter.

And I’m sorry to say it Jon Snow, but I hope winter never comes. I hope it stays in the deepest, darkest, coldest pits of Hell, so that I can enjoy my lovely heated weather.

Of course, you already know that this stupid wet season sticks around for two more days. Punching my summer in the gut with this kind of weather, is sort of the equivalent to chopping off my own arm.

It’s just so disabling.

Not to mention, Belle won’t let me surf in the rain out of fear that I will catch a cold. And I can’t really hold it against her. I mean, who wants to spend the summer stuck inside a beach house with the flu.

Not me!

I hate soup in all of its forms, and sickness makes me feel weak.

So maybe a couple of days off the waves while it rains is a good idea.

Doesn’t mean I’m happy about it though.

Hell no!

I am going to sulk this weather away. Sure, my family will be sick of me by the time the sun is shining again, but it seems like this family of the male sex is going to be sticking around in my house, so I have some extra people to piss of anyway.

They want to stay in the warm and dry, they can deal with my complaining.

Lord knows I do enough of it.

And before you go asking, _Nova, I thought you had the attitude of someone who believed the sun shone out of their own ass?_

Yes, I am that narcissistic, but I am also a realist.

I know that the sun does not shine out of my rump, that gigantic ball of gas is just much too large for that – now don’t go cracking jokes like I have a big butt, we can’t all be Nicki Minaj after all – no; I am the kind of person who _acts_ like the sun shines from their behind.

It just makes the world turn more smoothly when everyone bows to your will.

So I stepped into my shower, and I will not provide you with the details of my cleansing, because I don’t want to label any of you as perverts. You know who you are anyway.

I heard the door being opened, and me being me, I immediately assumed it was Corby.

“Corbs. Go take a shit somewhere else. You are disturbing my peace and quie–” I was cut off as I was currently in a state of shock. I had moved to stick my head out past the shower curtain, partway through my sentence only to find that the older obnoxious boy who thought I was hot, was standing stalk still in the middle of the bathroom, too shocked to move.

I was the first to react.

“What the fuck are you doing in my bathroom while I’m showering, you fucking pervert! Get the fuck out!”

I know, I’m so literate.

But just so you know, _fuck_ , is one of my favourite words. And one that I use more often than I should, or more than Belle wants me to anyway.

The boy started stuttering but I ignored him, continuing to yell in his face.

“Do you not speak English?! Get the fuck out! You have legs! Walk the fuck out of here and go find another space to occupy! This one is fucking taken! I swear to God, if I wasn’t nude right now, you’d be getting the ass kicking of a lifetime! I suggest you fucking leave if you still want your balls attached to your genitals by the time morning comes!”

With those words of encouragement – though Corby happily told me later that it could have been considered harassment – the boy ran out of my bathroom, slamming the door in the process. I huffed and went back to my shower.

It was a shame that he had put me out of the mood to cleanse now. The water was no longer comfortable, and though he saw nothing, I felt violated.

It’s not a nice feeling.

I finished up my shower before another one of that dysfunctional family could interrupt my private time.

I pulled on a long-sleeved grey crop top, and a pair of Gasman’s old sweatpants that I had ripped at the knee, rolling them at the waist so that they would fit me properly. They reached my navel, which was ready to tan a nice bronze colour this summer – if this rain ever fucking stopped that is!

I pulled my hair up into a messy bun before walking out of the bathroom. As I walked out, I noticed that the boy was waiting outside.

I glared at him, and like any normal person would, yelled at him for walking in on you.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?! Why are you still here?! I will cut off your ears and staple them to your fucking neck if you were standing here to catch another glimpse!”

To my surprise – and complete annoyance – the boy’s fear from before seemed to have dissipated and the smirk on his face only showed how much he was enjoying my rant, and how much he was not taking me seriously.

There’s a bad move if I ever saw one.

Anyone who knows me, knows perfectly well that I have 100% follow through. If I say I’m going to do something, I’m gonna fucking do it.

Okay, so maybe I wouldn’t staple his ears to his neck but I would do something to get his perverted ass back.

Wait? Why the fuck am I thinking about his ass?!

“You’re cute when you’re mad. Can I go pee now?” was his genius response.

I glared at him, but moved out of the doorway. He moved to pass me, but I stuck my arm out to stop him.

“Why not just go to a different bathroom? There are plenty in this house,” I asked in a tight voice, annoyed by his cockiness.

“Well, Corby didn’t tell me where any of the others were, and I thought it best not to go walking into other rooms. I mean, what if this house was full of girls with a temper like yours? I try to only be called a pervert once a day. Didn’t want to risk it.”

With that he turned to the bathroom and shut the door in my face.

What an ass!

He even had the audacity to pat my head like he was talking to a child.

It’s not my fault I am 5’1”. I know. I was cursed with the short gene – one that seemed to skip over every single one of my other family members. The twins are taller than me for crying out loud! And they’re only fucking fifteen!

I huffed and stalked away to my room, searching for my phone where I could rant to my twitter followers.

Excuse me for having friends.

I know I come off as antisocial and bitchy, but I actually have a steady stream of acquaintances. They’re probably just not the group that you expect the track team representative to hang with.

My friends consist of a couple of those cliché groups you see in movies.

Basically any group of kids who is categorized by the fact that they aren’t on the football team, or the cheerleading squad, or either of their group’s mindless followers and admirers.

We’ve got the Art and History kids, the Music and Theatre kids, the Political-Nuts, the Burnouts, the Stoners, the Fangirls, the Tech kids, the Nerds, the Environmentally-Cautious, the I’m-So-Religious-I’ll-Shove-God-Down-Your-Throat kids, the Science geeks, and the socially awkward and challenged kids.

And you know what?

Fuck you all and your stereotypes.

We throw the best parties in the city.

Our group of misfit, mix matched teens is probably more popular at our school than who you would call the ‘it’ crowd of jocks and cheerleaders.

Don’t get me wrong.

I’m not Queen Bee of the crowd, that’s the beauty of my friends. We’re all happy following no one.

There are no quarterbacks or head cheerleaders. We play by our own rules, and we will own your ass if you cross us.

Everyone in our group has been dubbed a name by the school that describes us, and sure, mine might be of the vertically challenged and bitchy variety, but that’s not to say I don’t live up to it, or down, depending on where you’re looking at me from.

But that’s a little off topic.

I was about halfway through my twitter rant when my anger began to dissipate, and I didn’t really care about the bathroom incident anymore.

I sighed and deleted the tweet, turning over on my bed to play candy crush as I lay down.

Sue me for giving into such games, but that shit is addictive.

It’s like crack I guess.

The crack of the internet.

Hehehe. Come on! That’s funny!

You all suck.

That joke would have killed with my tech buddies.

“NOVIE!!!!!”

I was interrupted by the force of a four year old and a six year old jumping onto my stomach. I looked down to see the grinning faces of Boyd and Abby.

I smiled at them, pulling them up to me. I planted a kiss on Abby’s nose and ruffled Boyd’s hair as they giggled.

“There are some weird boys downstairs and we don’t want to stay with them,” Abs voiced quietly. I sat up and pulled her onto my lap to hug her. Boyd sat down beside us, nodding solemnly in agreement with her.

I grinned.

“I know. I don’t like them either. That’s why I’m hiding up here,” I whispered secretively with a small smile on my face. Abby smiled. I knew she had trouble with new people.

“But Uncle Gazzy said that we have to go and say hello,” Boyd frowned, “He made us come up here and get you.”

I frowned along with my nephew, before a plan hatched in my head. I motioned for the kids to come in close so that I could tell them my genius idea.

After that, I ran around my room trying to find scarves and ties, then we all hid in my closet, waiting for the inevitable.

Gazzy had sent Abs and Boyd up to get me, and if we took long enough, he would come looking, and we would ambush him.

Simples.

Gasman really is the most predictable human being in the world.

Sure enough, after maybe five minutes of waiting in the closet, and might I say, that is enough time for the adrenaline of playing hide and seek to seep in, and make me need to pee.

Gazzy came up to my room and stuck his head through the door. I watched him through the crack in the closet.

“Nova?” Gazzy asked quietly. A confused expression crossed his face, and suddenly, Abby tugged on my hand. I looked at her and gave her a small nod. She and Boyd then rushed out of the closet.

“AHHHH!” They yelled. I joined in. I ran out and almost laughed at the shocked expression on Gazzy’s face. They had managed to tackle him to the ground when taking advantage of their surprise. I couldn’t be prouder of these kids.

I quickly tied Gazzy’s hands, then his feet.

“What the–” Was his genius response. I just giggled like a crazy person. I then pulled Gazzy into a chair and he seemed to understand that he was now our hostage, and that he couldn’t make us go anywhere near the so called guests downstairs.

Gazzy frowned at me.

“Why do you always do this?” He asked tiredly. I laughed in his face.

“Why do you never see this coming?” I giggled. Abs laughed with me, mindlessly shuffling on her feet.

She probably thought she was going to get in trouble for this. Boyd was indifferent. He was smiling before he jumped on Gazzy’s lap, letting Gasman let out a huff of breath at the unexpected weight.

Gazzy groaned.

“Why didn’t your parents teach you good social skills?”

I grinned. “Because social skills are not taught or learnt. They are simply born unto every person on earth. My dose just happened to be considerably smaller than everyone else’s.”

Gasman rolled his eyes at me. I just continued to grin at him. I then saw something spark in his eyes, and I knew I was about to lose the upper hand.

“Hey Boyd, I think I heard Auntie Belle say something about cake downstairs,” he grinned. I glared at him as Boyd’s ears perked up.

“Cake?” Boyd asked quietly. I mentally face palmed. It seemed that my young grasshoppers still had much to learn in the art of kidnapping. Or in this case, Gazzynapping.

Hehehe.

You all suck. You should learn to laugh at jokes.

My humour is boss.

Gazzy began to describe the yummy cake that he was bribing Boyd with, and soon Abby became interested too. I gave up. I knew they wanted cake. It wasn’t long before they were both running downstairs to taste their temptation.

I gave Gazzy a look.

“You can’t bribe me with cake. I hope you’ve got something a lot stronger up your sleeve, because it’s going to take a hell of a lot to get me to hang around the strays in our living room,” I said to him, turning away to sit on my bed.

“Oh, Noves. You should know I always come prepared,” Gazzy smiled evilly. I narrowed my eyes at him. He was stalling me. He had nothing.

“Try me,” I challenged. He grinned.

“Well. I know of your love of meat. So I was willing to treat you this summer. I went and bought twenty pounds of bacon before we left New York City. I was prepared to ration it to you over the course of the summer, but not unless you let me go, and you sit with us in the living room and entertain our house guests.”

I smirked. I knew he bought the bacon. That’s why I stole it.

Gazzy’s grin faltered when I smirked.

“What did you do?” he asked me knowingly. I shrugged, still smirking at him.

“Let’s just say I found a few sizeable freezer bags that smelt suspiciously of my favourite treat and I took them.”

“Fuckin’ Hell,” Gasman groaned. I laughed.

“But, I guess we can make a deal,” I smiled mischievously.

Gazzy narrowed his eyes at me, knowing full well that my deals most definitely suited me rather than him. He made a motion for me to get on with it.

“How’s about, if in exchange for me letting you go, you put your amazing chef skills to good use and make me a breakfast every day for the rest of summer, and it must include some of my bacon?” I challenged, grinning widely.

Gasman sighed.

“So basically, you want me to be your slave?”

I faked shock, placing a hand over my heart.

“Gasman! Of course not! You will just be my personal breakfast chef, that’s all,” I smirked at him. He rolled his eyes, but I could see him giving in. No doubt Belle had given him the task of coming to get me, and he hated disappointing her.

She had him wrapped around her little finger.

That’s not to say that either of them didn’t deserve the other, they are literally the poster of ‘perfect couple’.

He’s the ying to her yang, and they both balance each other out. They have ups and downs and they’re both cute together.

Gasman sighed before nodding at my deal.

“Fine. I’ll do it. Just get me out of this and come downstairs with me.”

I grinned, happily untying him. He rolled his eyes at me, shaking his head before beckoning me down with him.

As we came downstairs, we had to pass the kitchen where I saw Boyd and Abby happily stuffing their faces with blue iced cake.

I walked into the living room after Gasman, to see that every seating place was taken except for one beside Belle, and one beside the demon who had interrupted my shower.

I glared at Gazzy as he winked at me, taking the spot beside Belle. I glared at him before eyeing the last space.

It was only then that I noticed I hadn’t seen Mandy since I went surfing with Corby. I looked to her for answers; she was sitting next to the brooding boy, the one who thought I was a bitch. I think his name was Dylan. Corby seemed to know what I was asking and nodded at me.

“Mandy took off as soon as we got here. Something about a Tinder date,” Corby laughed. I smirked, nodding, _only Mandy_ I thought.

I once again turned back to the spot beside the older boy, whose name I had forgotten and didn’t really want to remember anyway.

He had the guts to pat the spot that was supposed to be mine. I glared at him and stormed off to the kitchen. I heard him chuckle as I left.

I hated guys who were forward and pushy. They got on my nerves, the cocky asshole. My aversion to guys like that probably had something to do with my ex-boyfriend Penn, because he is one of those cocky assholes.

I smiled at Boyd and Abby still eating their cake when I walked in. They giggled at me and I couldn’t bring myself to be mad at them. As I was getting myself a glass of orange juice, I heard someone walk in behind me.

I turned around to see Belle’s kind smile. I rolled my eyes and kept drinking. She sighed.

“Noves, they won’t be here for that long. Can you at least be civil with them. I mean, once their car is fixed, they will be on their way. It’s just one day.”

I gave Belle a look that told her I didn’t believe a word of what she was saying. She just rolled her eyes at me, before she took a different approach.

“Look. They’re going to be staying here whether you like it or not, and this house isn’t big enough for you to escape them. So you’re just going to have to deal with it. They are going to talk to you, and you’re going to have to talk to them at one point or another, so just make it easier upon yourself and go hang out with them. Corby didn’t have trouble with it, and she can help you if you will let her. Now I’m not taking no for an answer. You’re going to go in there and you’re going to stay in there. Gasman and I are going to take Abby, Boyd, and the little boy in there, his name is James, into the media room to watch SpongeBob. I heard the twins talking to the boys their age, Isaac and Samuel, and they were challenging them to some video game. Mandy is on a date, so that leaves you, Corby, Beau, and Dylan. Just go in there and be civil. I don’t want to hear your complaining. Just go,” she said sternly. I glared at her, but left. There was no point arguing with Belle when she went into protective-mama-bear mode.

I huffed as I entered the living room. Sure enough, three people remained. And I no longer had an excuse not to know the showerus-interruptus’ name, because Belle had just said that it was Beau. I was at least thankful that the departure of everyone else had left many more seats for me to occupy, so I chose the ottoman by the window. In case I needed to make a quick escape, you know how it is.

Now let the awkward tension settle over the room.

Corby was kind of making doe eyes at Dylan, which I found a little amusing, because a) she falls in love with just about every piece of male specimen that she meets and b) it had been like an hour, and that was all the time it took for her infatuation to start manifesting.

Beau was looking at me with a smirk on his face, to which I glared at him and rolled my eyes.

I crossed my arms and looked out the window.

I was absentmindedly watching the rainwater make tracks in the windows before I heard the sounds of the beginning of conversation. There was a beep from the coffee machine in the kitchen, and Corby ran out to get her drink, leaving me with these two weirdo’s.

Beau began to chuckle. I glared at him.

“What?” I snapped at him.

“You must really not like people. You just look so uncomfortable. You are literally the epitome of the phrase ‘out of place in your own home’,” he laughed. I huffed and folded into myself even more.

“Lighten up Sparky. We’re not that bad.”

I turned at the absurd nickname.

“ _What_ did you just call me?” I seethed. He grinned.

“I called you Sparky, because you know, you’re so feisty.”

I tried to ignore him, focusing my attention on Corby, as she walked back into the room with a tray of mugs, presumably filled with coffee. She handed one each to the boys before taking one for herself.

She and Dylan then began a conversation about coffee, and probably how amazing it is. I wouldn’t know, I hate coffee. Even if I drank a cup of it at seven am, I wouldn’t be able to sleep until two in the morning.

“Alright, if you don’t like Sparky, how about Munchkin, you know, because you’re short as fuck. Or Shortie. Or Dwarfie. Or Midget.”

I don’t know what happened after that. I just know that I ripped out his tongue.

I’m kidding.

Seriously. I hate being called short, in any form. And I kind of lost it. I just know that Corby had to pull me off him.

**.**

**| Present Day |**

So there is an insight into how much I despise his very core.

It’s been two days, as I said before, and he hasn’t let up on trying to find me a nickname. He has ranged from Sparky, to Girl Scout (because Corby told them of our beginning-of-Summer experience, to which I almost smacked her for). I was sick of him.

Some would consider what he tormented me with to be innocent flirting, but I hated it. I don’t care how much he wants to flirt with me. I wasn’t giving in to that jackass.

Apart from the nicknames, he has also begun some habits that have been getting on my nerves.

One of them, is creeping up behind me and scaring the shit out of me. He usually earns a kick or a slap to one of his body parts for that. One of his other newfound habits, is to take food from my plate. I swear, the first time he tried it, I would have decked him, if not for the fact that he ran away with my rasher of bacon between his grubby fingers.

Grr.

Everyone knows not to touch my bacon.

Stupid asshole.

~


End file.
